The first part of Lakewood Village President Erin Smith’s quarterly letter to residents was about RedTail Golf Club’s proposed sale.
The second part is about sewers on the east side of town. You can see it below:
East Sewer
The second strategic decision considered by the Board of Trustees is the provision of wastewater treatment services to the residents of the East Side who currently receive such services from the City of Crystal Lake through the East Side Sewer Fund.
The eastern part of Lakewood (mainly Country Club Additions) where Crystal Lake proposes to increase sewage treatment rates by enough to make it economically feasible to sent its sewage to Lakewood’s sewage treatment plant.
Upon receipt of a new proposal from the City of Crystal Lake, we began a purposeful and thorough evaluation of said proposal.
Some of Lakewood’s sewage treatment plant facilities.
An independent engineering firm was hired to evaluate the feasibility, costs, and impacts of the proposed agreement.
This was especially important because the proposed agreement represented such a marked departure from all of the previous agreements.
The initial analysis by the engineering firm indicated that the costs under the proposed agreement would be significantly higher than in the past.
So much higher, in fact, that it would be more cost effective to install the infrastructure necessary to redirect the treatment of sewage from our residents to our wastewater treatment plant on Haligus Road.
What Crystal Lake has been charging to treat sewage from the east side of Lakewood.
The engineering firm was directed to further explore this option, and a detailed presentation was made to the Board of Trustees at the meeting on September 10.
At the conclusion of the presentation, it was apparent that the most cost effective solution is to install the infrastructure needed to create a unified wastewater system for our residents.
Another part of Lakewood’s sewage treatment plant complex.
The engineering firm, Strand Associates Inc., was unanimously directed to initiate the design phase of this project, and this effort is now underway.
The power point presentation from the meeting on September 10 is available for review on the Village’s website.
While some variables are still unknown (e.g. interest rate), the estimated increase in sewer rates under this scenario is significantly less than the costs projected under the proposed agreement.
The entire project (design and construction) is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.
We will endeavor to keep residents apprised of the status of this project throughout this period.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the Board of Trustees for further information regarding these issues or any other Village related matter.